Now Reading: Kiran Mazumdar hits back at MLA seeking CSR funds for road repairs
-
01
Kiran Mazumdar hits back at MLA seeking CSR funds for road repairs
Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has criticised Anekal MLA B. Shivanna after he reportedly asked companies in the industrial cluster to use their corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds for road repairs. She called…
Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has criticised Anekal MLA B. Shivanna after he reportedly asked companies in the industrial cluster to use their corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds for road repairs. She called the demand an abdication of government duty and said CSR money cannot substitute for public works.
Shivanna had earlier flagged the poor condition of roads serving the industrial belt on the city's outskirts. Mazumdar countered that tax-paying companies already fund government infrastructure through taxes and that CSR is meant for community welfare, not basic civic maintenance. The dispute highlights a recurring tension over who bears the cost of infrastructure near industrial zones.
Indian Opinion Analysis
CSR funds are legally tied to specific social and environmental projects under the Companies Act, 2013, and cannot be diverted for public infrastructure that is the government’s own responsibility. The Karnataka High Court and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs have previously clarified this boundary. If the MLA persists, the next step could be a formal notice from the Registrar of Companies or a shareholder complaint, forcing the companies to defend their CSR spending before the company law tribunal.
Source: ndtvprofit.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
